Drow (Dark Elves)
Race : Drow Elf (Dark Elf) Ssri'Tel'Quessir, Dhaerow Regions :Elf (drow), Cormanthor Of the various elven subraces, none are more notorious than the drow. Descended by the original dark-skinned elven subrace called the Ssri'tel'quessir, the drow were cursed into their present appearance by the good elven deities for following the goddess Lloth down the path to evil and corruption. Though divided by endless fueds and schisms, the drow are united in one terrible desire : they seethe with a hatred for the surface elves. By their way of recokoning, they proved themselves the superior race in the Fourth Crown War, and the fact that the Seldarine (and Corellon in particular) punished them for their success is a poison that churns in their hearts and minds eternally. They burn with hatred for the Seldarine and their coddled children, and want nothing more than to return to the surface and bring the elves there suffering a thousand times greater than that which the drow have been forced to endure for over the past ten thousand years. Physical appearance Also called dark elves, the drow have black skin that resembles polished obsidian and stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have blood-red eyes, although pale eyes (so pale as to be often mistaken for white) in shades of pale lilac, silver, pink, and blue are not unknown. They also tend to be smaller and thinner than most Faerûnian elves. Most drow on the surface are evil and worship Vhaeraun, but some outcasts and renegades have a more neutral attitude, and there are even groups of good drow who worshi Eilistraee or other deities not of the traditional drow pantheon. Drow have the life expectancy, age categories, and height and weight characteristics defined for elves. Outlook Drow are, on the whole, sadistic, destructive, and treacherous. They view themselves as the rightful heirs to Faerûn and still remember the perceived injustice of their exile into the Underdark. They hate other races and either wish to make war upon them or view those others with contempt and tolerate them only as necessary for trade or temporary military alliances. Even among their own kind, drow are cruel and suspicious. There is little room for love and friendship in drow society. They may value alliances with other family members or acquaintances, but no drow truly trusts another. Drow forge alliances only when they are more powerful than an 'ally', possess blackmail-worthy knowledge, or have a common enemy that overrides their mutual hatred. Even then, they keep their eyes and ears primed for the slightest hint of treachery. The mottoe for the drow may well be 'Do unto others first so that cannot do unto you.' Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. A fair number of drow have come to value their position in the Underdark and now think of themselves as true natives of their dark realm. They have little desire to return to the surface and would rather rule in the depths than strugle to regain a realm they no longer hold any interest in ruling. Even more rare are those few drow who have atoned for their evil ways and think of their fellows as monsters that need to be stopped. These drow are either surface dwellers who are struggling to become accepted into new societies, or fugitives dwelling in out-of-the-way caverns deep underground. With the new expansion into the surface, more drow than ever before are being exposed to the truth of the surface, and many are realizing that life on the surface is much nicer than they were led to believe by agents of Lolth and her kin. It is possible, with proper acceptance and encouragement, that the numders of neutral or even good drow on the surface of Faerûn could skyrocket in the coming years. The priesthood of Eilistraee is in the forefront of this movement, desperately trying to divert the drow war on the surface into a mass conversion from the dark elves' dreadful ways. Relations with Other Races The drow do not interact well with the various other sentient races of Faerûn. At best, the drow think of other races as merely laughable or contemptible. They hold low opinions even of their erstwhile allies, such as the kuo-toa. Against most other races, the only way the drow know to react is with hatred and outright war. They have built up powerful city-states on the north that the path to power lies in the subjugation of lesser races and the eradication of those who pose a threat to their new homes. Prisoners captured in drow raids and battles are usually brought back to the cities to serve out the remainder of their lives as slaves. Orcs, hobgoblins, ogres, and other savage humanoids are common slaves. Most drow housebholds have two to three such slaves for every drow in the house. The breeding and selling of slaves is a thriving business in drow cities, because these hapless thralls perform all menial and unskilled labor for a drow city. The true focus of drow hatred, though, is reserved for the surface elves. They act quickly and cruelly to sieve any chance to bring pain, suffering, and death to other elves they encounter. Even the few evil surface elves are seen as enemies. Drow sometimes enter into truces with other races or individuals if doing so helps them to realize their sinister goals, but these truces are by their nature temporary affairs. It's only a matter of time until the drow turn on their allies. Half Drow, Nevae. Regions : Dambrath, Elf (drow), Half-drow, the North. In most lands, half-drow are rare. Since so many drow are irredeemably evil, they only mate with humans by way of rape or slavery. The only exception are the half-drow of the land of Dambrath in the Shining South, who arise from the centuries-old drow subjugation of the human folk of that land. Physical appearance Half-drow have dusky skin, silver or white hair, and a broad range of eye colors. They are often just as dark-hearted as their elven parents, but with a bitter resentment that comes from knowing that they are considered second-class members of drow society. In human society, half-drow are distrusted nearly as much as their full-blooded cousins. Despite this, good half-drow are much less rare than good drow. Whether this has to do with the influence of their human blood, or the desire to rebel against the drow who treat them so poorly, is difficult to tell. Outlook Dambrathan half-drow combine cold, condescending arrogance with secret shame. Although they consider themselves the better of the humans over which they rule, they know that their drow cousins feel similarly about them. They spend a great deal of time trying to prove themselves to everyone around them, including each other. Many half-drow become adventurers to escape the bigotry they face in just about every community they find outside Dambrath. Dambrathans, on the other hand, often range far outside their homeland to garner wealth and fame that can prove their superiority back home. Relations with other races Most half-drow don't get along well with anyone outside other half-drow. Dambrath is really the place for such people. Good half-drow are often friendly when approached with acceptance or understanding, but standoffish otherwise. They know all to well how most people feel about their drow kin, and by extension, them.